Abused, Almost Murdered, Yet WGN’s Merri Dee Made Choice To Live Her Best Life

What has always stood out since that day in 1971 is the light behind Merri Dee’s eyes. Sure, her trademark is that million-dollar smile. But even more striking, the face of the longtime broadcaster, a civic leader, practically radiates light.

It could be from surviving being kidnapped, shot twice in the head and left in the woods to die, a life miracle she recounts in vivid detail in her memoir released this month, Merri Dee, Life Lessons on Faith, Forgiveness & Grace.

Or it could be defying the odds as a child, beaten mercilessly with a broomstick, razor strop, fists, etc., by a stepmother declaring she’d never amount to anything.

But when you consider her life’s abundance — after teen marriage and divorce, struggling as a single mother, and weathering domestic violence — there are many depths from which the light must emanate.